The reason all side discharge mowers (the most common type in the United States) are equipped with a "discharge deflecting chute" (as it stands in the art today) is three-fold; 1) to keep all flying debris (from the blade of a rotary mower) at a very low; and therefore safer, altitude, this allows the (manufacturer of) mower/equipment to pass a required "Flying Objects Test" (defined in ANSI Standard 71.4), 2) while meeting all the criteria of the Flying Objects Test, the discharge deflecting chute should still allow the widest possible broadcast dispersal of grass clippings, and 3) the discharge deflecting chute must disallow entry of a person's feet into the mower housing which may result in contact with the moving cutting blade (ANSI 71.4).
After meeting all of the above criteria, most of them (on commercial units only) easily fold up, hinged on a horizontal axis allowing a grass catcher to be attached. Some commercial units have a strong torsion spring that will automatically position the chute in the down mode when a grass catcher is not attached. Side discharge mowers allow clippings to be broadcast or bagged; however, current discharge deflecting chute will not permit close trimming on chute side.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,539 describes a type of grass discharge chute which allows one mower to be altered to either of two configurations. The first, with a flat arched coverplate suction causes the unit to operate as a side-discharging rotary unit, and the second, by removing the coverplate and attaching a rear-bagging type discharge chute in its place and then further attaching a bag-type catcher may be operated as a rear-bagging unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,445 relates to an extension for a rotary mower safety chute outlet which will not allow any object to escape horizontally from the plane of the mower's rotating cutting blade; therefore, clippings and other debris must first ascend vertically prior to their downward angled exit from the mower housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,078 teaches the use of a pedal controlled hinged chute for lawn mowers. This device is simply a "normal" discharge chute with the addition of a foot pedal to manually raise the chute when attaching a grass catcher.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,559 teaches the use of a locking mechanism to hold the safety discharge chute into position. The hinge/bracket adaptation holds the chute in its downward position so that debris does not escape the mower housing to push the deflector chute up. The hinge/bracket can also be used to manually lock the chute in a vertical position to provide for attachment of a grass catcher.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,907 is not a discharge deflecting chute at all, but an articulated foot guard.
All of these safety discharge deflecting chutes require manual positioning. None of them utilizes the self-articulating feature as does the present invention to collapse and fold upon contact with any obstruction in its path, and then automatically unfold to an open position without manual assistance. Additionally, further differentiating the instant claimed invention from the prior art references is the fact that its primary and most significant pivotal axis is the vertical axis at the front corner where the discharge deflecting chute attaches to the mower housing. This novel design is necessary to provide self-displacement of the discharge deflecting chute upon coming into contact with oncoming obstructions. No motion is required of the operator to remove or fold the discharge deflecting chute. The forward motion of the cutting deck provides the necessary force to collapse the discharge deflecting chute as claimed in the instant invention.
Upon striking an object, the front vertical panel of the discharge deflecting chute, of the present invention, collapses to completely cover the mower housing discharge outlet to avoid compromising the safety of the operator/bystanders. Operator safety is also provided when the discharge deflecting chute is in the normal, down, discharge mode/position in that the rear flap remains in a vertical/downward position to function in a similar manner to "rigid" chutes like those seen currently in the market. This feature enables the present claimed invention to successfully pass the "Flying Objects Tests" and be deemed safe for consumer/operator safety.
Federal regulations require that all mowers are to have a discharge deflecting chute attached while in use; however, typical rigid discharge deflecting chutes are a nuisance, therefore, many consumers and landscape contractors remove to allow close, two-side, trimming and transporting in narrow truckbeds and trailers. The present invention provides a novel discharge deflecting chute which is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, adaptable to all models of rotary side discharge mowers, meets existing federal safety regulations, and provides a means for protecting the user without the user having to manually manipulate the discharge deflecting chute to mow around objects.